The present invention relates to a mode selection assembly for use in tape recorders or the like and more particularly to an assembly for selecting one of the operating modes through the utilization of the rotating torque of a rotating member.
One example of tape recorders of the above mentioned kind has been proposed by the applicant of the present application, i.e., U.S. patent application Ser. No. 254,175 filed on Apr. 14, 1981. Upon depression of a play lever a trigger arm is disengaged from a cam gear before the lever is locked with a first lock plate. Therefore, even if the play lever is released from depression and returned to the non-actuated position without being locked with the first lock plate, the cam gear continues rotating to bring a subchassis, via a subchassis-actuating arm, into a second position where the magnetic head is in contact with the tape for the playback mode.
In other words, the tape recorder still stands in a play mode although the play lever has returned to its the home position, resulting in playing an undesired program and causing the operator some inconvenience.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a mode selector assembly which overcomes the problems in the earlier filed assembly.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a mode selector assembly wherein an actuator lever is forcedly shifted to a locked position with a lock plate to set the tape recorder into a desired operating mode through the utilization of the rotation torque of a cam gear immediately after actuation of the actuator level which disengages a trigger arm from the cam gear and permits the cam gear to rotate.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a mode selector assembly for use in a tape recorder or the like for placing the tape recorder into a selected operating mode by means of a rotating member upon the actuation of an actuator lever, said mode selector assembly comprising a cam surface on the rotating member, interlocking means provided between the actuator lever and the rotating member for sliding movement with the rotating movement of the cam surface, responsive to rotation of the rotating member and connecting means for connecting the actuator lever to the interlocking means, wherein the actuator lever is shifted to the actuated position via the interlocking means in response to the rotation of the cam surface immediately after the rotating member is rotated upon actuation of the actuator lever.